Chapter 1: Gilded Sky (1)

The grip on the bucket handle was unusual. It was the stance of someone holding a sword. 

“How amusing.” 

A young maidservant of the Guo family. A child who had just turned fourteen today, one who had only ever held a dishcloth. 

How did she know how to hold a sword? In this era, the answer usually converged to one thing: 

The bloodline of a fallen sect. 

“What brings you joy?” 

“I find you interesting, and that brings me joy.” 

It was an inappropriate thing for a thirty-year-old martial artist to say. Especially when one looked at the plum blossom embroidered on his martial robe. 

“I… am just a maidservant of the Guo family.” 

“That’s not what I meant.” 

The man bent slightly, staring intently at the girl. 

Her jet-black hair. Her pitch-black pupils. 

A sorrow, anguish, and emptiness so profound it seemed hollow emotions unfitting for a child. Yet this young maid bore them in her gaze. 

But that wasn’t all. 

The delicate fragrance of plum blossoms lingering at the tip of his nose no matter how much perfume one used to mask it, it couldn’t be hidden. 

Any martial artist from Mount Hua would recognize this scent. 

“Were you from one of Mount Hua’s vassal sects?” 

“Ah—” 

The girl’s shoulders flinched slightly. 

Instead of answering, the bucket slipped from her fingertips and fell. 

After a brief, awkward silence… 

“Have you come to punish me as well?” 

“Do I look like a martial artist of the Alliance to you?” 

“In this age, it’s rare to find martial artists who don’t belong to the Alliance.” 

Her voice was resigned. And she wasn’t wrong. 

It had already been over fifty years since the Sword Sovereign of the Azure Sky, Namgung Seon, defeated the Heavenly Demon and ascended as the leader of the Martial Alliance. 

Fifty years. A full fifty years. 

Even emperors rarely ruled for fifty years. 

And the Alliance Leader… was still human. A human unable to resist the sweet whispers of power. 

This was an era where a single careless word against the Alliance Leader could get one’s tongue cut off in the streets. 

That girl’s father must have… met his end for speaking just one honest word. 

“You can act like a child if you want.” 

“I… don’t understand what you mean.” 

“Look at me.” 

Cheon Soyak raised her head. 

Skin as pale as the first snow of dawn. A faint glimmer of tears pooled beneath her eyes. 

But the man saw something deeper—a darkness lurking in the depths of her pupils. 

Though he usually concealed it, Eum Song had exceptionally sharp eyes. 

That gaze… was unmistakably the eyes of one born under the Heavenly Killing Star. 

The Heavenly Killing Star—one of the 108 malevolent stars in Taoist belief, destined to bring bloodshed to the world. 

Eum Song smiled faintly. Because this was exactly the kind of talent he needed. 

“I am Eum Song. As you can see, I am from Mount Hua.” 

“I see.” 

“Will you come with me?” 

How could a butterfly cross the sea? 

Cheon Soyak thought her life was no different from a butterfly’s. 

She could fly, but only so far. But if she found a ship, she might just make it. 

The girl bit her lip. 

“Mount Hua… did not protect us.” 

“I know.” 

“I am the daughter of a family that rebelled against the Alliance Leader.” 

“I know that too.” 

“Then why do you want to take me with you?” 

Mount Hua—where plum blossoms never wither. 

Rumors said that some divine artifact granted by the Alliance Leader ensured the flowers would bloom eternally. 

Eum Song was also an oddity among Mount Hua’s disciples. But one thing was certain: 

His eye for talent. 

The aura of the Heavenly Killing Star emanating from the depths of those dark, hollow eyes, even he, a master at the pinnacle of martial arts, felt a slight chill. 

That girl was a Black Qilin. A beast of destruction that could tear the world apart. 

If she spread her wings, she could very well bring an end to this era. 

“I have expectations of you.” 

“I see. Then, my lord and I are in a transactional relationship.” 

“A transactional relationship?” 

“You take me away from here, and in return, I fulfill your expectations. That’s what you mean, isn’t it?” 

Her voice was sharp. Unusually clear for someone so young, a voice that could cut like a blade. 

Eum Song was impressed. 

Were all children blessed by the stars like this? 

Her intelligence made it impossible to dismiss her just because she was fourteen. 

“Indeed. You’re right.” 

“What do you want from me?” 

Eum Song glanced around. No one was there. 

Yet he still flicked his sleeve, releasing an energy barrier to block all sound. 

“Don’t you want revenge?” 

“…Are you testing me?” 

“I’m asking if you want to drive a sword through the Alliance Leader’s throat.” 

A brief silence followed. 

Cheon Soyak quietly closed her eyes. 

Her father had been executed. Her mother, unable to bear the loss, hanged herself. 

Their household collapsed, and the once-prominent vassal sect of Mount Hua faded into obscurity. 

In the end, she was the only one left. 

Her father, sensing his death, had transferred all his inner energy to her. 

So she spent her life sealing her meridians, because it wasn’t truly hers. 

To prevent the uncontrollable energy from leaking out unnoticed. 

She hid her innate talent and buried herself among the maids of a fallen family. 

No one would think to search for a blade in such a place. 

“And yet, I’ve been found out.” 

“Don’t you want to drive a sword through the Alliance Leader’s throat?” 

But no sect would take in someone like her—the daughter of a man executed for defying the Alliance. 

The martial arts and relics of her family remained only in her mind and her possession. 

But how could she survive without food? 

Even working all day was barely enough to keep herself alive. 

When would she ever have time to train, to refine her body and swordplay? 

Only those who could devote themselves entirely to martial arts were the ones who led the tides of the martial world.

Only those with the means and circumstances to do so. Only those who weren’t daughters of families marked and ruined by the Alliance. 

“Are you saying Mount Hua will take me in?” 

“Yes.” 

Cheon Soyak raised her small hand and pressed on her sealed acupoint. 

The blocked meridian opened, releasing the inherited energy that surged forth. 

The scent of plum blossoms flooded the courtyard… Now, Soyak was no longer a girl—she was a Black Qilin in human form. 

Starved and stunted, unable to wield her full strength yet. But if nurtured, her coiled vengeance could tear the world apart. 

“You’ve trained in the Soul Blossom Sutra.” 

From the flow and turbulence of her energy alone, Eum Song recognized her. 

The only daughter of the Black Plum Sword Lord, leader of the Huayin Sect. 

The Soul Blossom Sutra was an ancient mental cultivation method from the main sect. 

The Black Plum Sword Lord, once an outer disciple, had earned it by beheading several fleeing demonic sect leaders after their collapse. 

“Cheon Soyak of the Huayin Sect greets you.” 

“Were you also the one who inherited the sect’s divine artifact and techniques?” 

“Yes.” 

Three things had been passed down to the Huayin Sect: 

The mental cultivation method—Soul Blossom Sutra. 

The forbidden technique—Falling Plum and Pine Resolution. 

And the ancient divine artifact—Luo Hua Zheng Jian (Falling Blossom True Sword). 

They were gifts from Mount Hua, given with thinly veiled malice. 

The Falling Plum and Pine Resolution was a martial art no one had mastered in ages. 

Though called a “forbidden technique,” it required the Soul Blossom Sutra to execute. 

Yet, the energy cultivated through the sutra couldn’t make plum blossoms bloom. 

Worse, the Luo Hua Zheng Jian was infamous for being an “un-drawable” sword. 

An ancient relic left by the founder, so obscure that no one understood its true purpose. 

Even the main sect’s disciples had abandoned it decades ago, leaving it to gather dust. 

A gift that looked impressive but was utterly useless. 

“With those, you could do nothing.” 

“My father knew that too.” 

“Yet he still passed them to you?” 

“Yes.” 

It made no sense. 

Had the Black Plum Sword Lord solved the riddle? As a disciple of the main sect, Eum Song couldn’t help but be intrigued. 

“So, he deciphered the secret and gave it to you?” 

“He did.” 

“Show me.” 

Cheon Soyak rose quietly. 

She untied her elaborately pinned hair, letting it cascade like a waterfall. 

“First, the technique wasn’t created to undermine the sect’s legacy.” 

“Naturally.” 

“Second, has Mount Hua ever accepted a disciple born under the Heavenly Killing Star?” 

“Not to my knowledge.” 

“That’s why no one solved the riddle.” 

She curled her fingers lightly, as if gripping an invisible sword. 

What followed was a sword dance— 

Her embroidered slippers brushed the ground lightly, 

Her barely clenched fingertips traced arcs through the air. 

The scent of plum blossoms permeated the courtyard… And finally, a single black plum blossom bloomed at her fingertips. 

A ‘Black Plum Blossom’. 

Not red, but a noble, dark hue, falling gracefully. 

It was utterly different from Mount Hua’s blossoms. 

“Do you remember the preface to the Falling Plum and Pine Resolution?” 

The version given to outer sects was a copy. Eum Song had, of course, read the original. 

“For the day the plums never wither. For the eternal prosperity of Mount Hua…”

“You’re mistaken, my lord.” 

As Soyak gathered her sleeves and sat, the heavy plum fragrance that had filled the courtyard settled. 

A richness even the main sect had never achieved. 

“To borrow my father’s words… this technique is a dirge to shake down the Eternal Blossom.” 

Eternal Blossom—the flower that never falls. Blooming and withering is the natural order. 

Even for plum blossoms… 

“Is it a sword to execute Mount Hua?” 

“A sword to make blossoms fall.” 

Every disciple of Mount Hua’s main sect strives for the sect’s glory. 

They wish for its plum blossoms never to wither. 

“But even my father couldn’t unleash this sword.” 

“Why?” 

“Because this sword… kills blossoms in full bloom.” 

Her sword-black pupils still swallowed all light. 

The Heavenly Killing Star— 

Something darkness itself resided within her. 

“I was born under the Heavenly Killing Star.” 

“So, it’s a Mount Hua martial art only the Heavenly Killing Star can learn.” 

“If you wish to retract your offer to take me as a disciple, now is your only chance.” 

All of Mount Hua’s martial arts belong to the Taoist tradition. Meant to refine body and mind toward immortality. 

Had the founder prepared a tool to sever those who strayed from the path? 

Eum Song studied Cheon Soyak with conflicted thoughts. 

Bringing her to Mount Hua would undoubtedly cause upheaval. 

That sword was meant to execute Mount Hua. 

No—more than that. 

It was something meant to end all that sought to halt the natural cycle, To defy the inevitable decay of all things. 

The nemesis of those who dream of eternity. 

Death. 

A martial art concerning mortality—the end that must come. 

It denies immortality, tarnishes gold, ends the day, and brings the night. 

That was why it was entrusted to the Heavenly Killing Star. 

“No. I won’t retract my offer.” 

“Then I have a question too.” 

“Ask.” 

“Why do you seek to end the present world?” 

Before those dark, depthless eyes, lies were useless. She would see through any falsehood. 

Eum Song sighed quietly and spoke the truth. 

“There are moments when humans want to kill other humans.” 

“I know.” 

“What do you think is the foremost of those moments?” 

After a brief pause, Soyak answered easily. 

For someone who had lost family to the Alliance Leader, it wasn’t hard. 

“When you’ve lost someone.” 

“Correct.” 

“Have you lost someone too, my lord?” 

Eum Song smiled bitterly. 

“A lover.”